Anil Kapoor says he was an absent father. (Photo: Instagram: Anil Kapoor)

We often see Anil Kapoor as the ultimate “daddy cool”—a versatile star who seems to be ageing backwards while prioritising family time, but not every actor’s off-screen life mirrors that image. At 69, Anil Kapoor has candidly admitted that he was largely absent as a father during his children’s growing-up years. In a recent conversation with Lilly Singh on her podcast, the actor spoke openly about his parenting, acknowledging his shortcomings without regret.

‘Sunita has been like a single parent’

“I was hardly there. If my children say positive things about me, I feel happy that I have raised them well. But as a father, I could have been much better. I should have spent more time. In many ways, Sunita has been like a single parent. I was present, but not the way a father should be,” he said.

Kapoor went on to share how disconnected he sometimes was from his children’s day-to-day lives. “I barely knew which class they were in.…